Our annual fundraiser, always a sell out success:

VIP Kayak Day on 18th April 2026

Once a year only – so as not to disturb the wildlife too much – and with access generously granted by our neighbouring properties, our VIP Kayak Day is back!

Experience Te Henga wetland from the best possible perspective and raise funds for its protection at the same time. The navigable part of Waitākere River is accessible only from private land. On this one day, access will be allowed for our biggest fundraiser of the year – a two hour paddle in small groups on kayaks. Drift along the Waitakere River, which flows through Matuku Link, through to Te Henga wetland.

Tickets are $80 each, with all equipment (kayaks, paddles, life vests, etc.) and training provided. Minimum age is 12 years. For enquiries about younger participants or other questions, please contact us.  Book now, last year this sold out within two weeks!

Book now!

All proceeds go directly to Matuku Link, a community conservation and education project in Bethells/Te Henga. Your support helps us restore the wetland with plants from our nursery, protect wildlife through pest control, and provide wetland education programs for local primary schools at our Sustainable Wetland Education Centre. The smell of a sausage sizzle (regular, vegan & GF) will await you when you arrive at our Sustainable Wetland Education Centre (aka “the barn”), with home baking, locally roasted coffee and cold drinks all for sale to provide you sustenance before or after your kayak tour.

Bookings required, no door sales! Last year this sold out within two weeks. Proudly part of EcoFest.

Hope to see you there! – Annalily, colleagues, trustees, volunteers – and all the birds you’ll be supporting!

All images by our voluntary professional photographer Stefan Marks – thank you!

It wouldn’t have been the same without our stall holders who engaged with our visitors with activities, information and conversation.

• the Bethells Fire Brigade,
• Christine Rose Ceramics,
• Muriwai Environment Trust (those penguins!),
• Pest Free Waitakere Ranges Alliance,
• Ark in the Park (that stuffed cat!),
• PredatorFreeSwanson/Waitekere,
• Friends of Whatipu (weekend outing coming up!),
• Frazer the Biodiversity Guy,
• Birds New Zealand,
• Te Henga Tuturiwhatu & Penguin Protectors,
• Department of Conservation (clean your boat!),
• Kauri Rescue (got any kauri for a health check?),
• Auckland Council Tiakina Kauri,
• Auckland Zoo
• Entomological Society (so many beautiful tiny creatures),
• Mountains to Sea (getting wet feet),
• EcoMatters (flower arranging with weeds!)
• Brandy Davis, who screen printed her beautiful design on our t-shirts all day long!

Join us to care for our plants with “Search and Rescue” – protect our native trees from getting smothered by weed or later in the season help to plant new trees. We’d love you to join us at Matuku Link at 111 Bethells Road. For H&S reasons: if you haven’t been before, please REGISTER here.

Our working bees are every Tuesday 9am till noon and every Third Sunday of the month:

• Sunday 15th February10 am – 1 pm
• Sunday 15th March10 am – 1 pm
• Sunday 19th April10 am – 1 pm
• Sunday 17th May 10 am – 1 pm – start planting season in earnest!
• Sunday 21th June 10 am – 1 pm
• Sunday 19th July 10 am – 1 pm
• Sunday 16th August 10 am – 1 pm
• Sunday 20th September 10 am – 1 pm.

If you’re new, we’ll take you on a guided tour around the project and you might even spot our pāteke (brown teal) or feed the huge eels. If you’re a regular, you know how satisfying and fun this is, so bring your friends! All ages welcome, especially the tamariki.

• no need to bring your own gloves and spades, but if you do: everything needs to be squeaky clean because of kauri dieback
• for the shared lunch we’ll provide soup or salad & snacks (and homemade baking if you’re lucky!) & hot drinks to share, if you can bring something to add, that’s always appreciated.

If you’d rather come during the week, we also do Tuesday Nursery & Field Days – every Tuesday from 9am till noon, with a very nice morning tea at 10.30am.

But don’t forget if you haven’t been before to register HERE.

Hope to see you there! – Annalily & the trustees

0212207136 or hello@matukulink.org.nz

Celebrate World Wetland Day with us at Matuku Link!
📅Sunday, 1st February 2026 | 10am – 3pm

Get ready for a day of discovery, excitement, and free family fun at the Wetland Day Festival 2026 at Matuku Link!

With free family activities every hour including guided tours on bugs, birds, eels, and plants, a VR kauri dieback game, and local conservation groups to chat to, you will have plenty to do all day. While you are here, look for our local pāteke (brown teal), spot a secretive spotless crake (pūweto), and keep an eye out for our cryptic namesake, the matuku-hūrepo (Australasian bittern). See how much Matuku Link has changed since its beginnings in 2016, with over eight thousand volunteer hours spent annually improving the place, building accessible boardwalks, and a Wetland Education Centre. Enjoy homemade treats, BBQ (vegan and non-vegan), drinks including fresh coffee, all available for purchase.

Stallholders in 2026 include Auckland Zoo, Birds New Zealand, Forest & Bird Waitākere, Arataki Visitor Centre, The Entomological Society, Mountains to Sea, Kauri Rescue, Auckland Council Biodiversity, Pest Free Waitākere Ranges Alliance (PFWRA), Muriwai Environment Trust and many others.

See you there for a fun filled day for the whole whanau!

Annalily & trustees Chad Wilkie, Dale Bainbridge, John Fawcett, John Staniland and John Sumich and all our volunteers.

Our Winter Fungal Foray
June 2025

Our recent Fungal Foray at Matuku Link was a sell-out success, despite the cold and wet weather. Nature lovers and curious minds bundled up and joined us for a fascinating walk led by expert mycologist Dr Peter Buchanan.

Peter’s passion for fungi is infectious, and over the course of the morning he introduced us to the hidden and often overlooked fungal life thriving in our wetland reserve. From colourful mushrooms to barely visible fruiting bodies, each find came with its own story.

Among the discoveries were:

• A paper wasp infected with a cordyceps fungus, an eerie and impressive example of parasitism in nature

• Tiny bird’s nest fungi, with their miniature “eggs” known as peridioles

• A large bolete with a spongy underside and rich earthy colouring

After our foray through the bush and wetland edges, we gathered in the barn to warm up and learn more. Peter shared some of his favourite field guides and gave us a close-up look at a few remarkable specimens, including the legendary āwheto or vegetable caterpillar – a native caterpillar mummified by a native cordyceps fungus.

It was a fantastic morning of learning and discovery, reminding us how important fungi are to our ecosystems – and how much we still have to learn about them.

A huge thank you to Dr Peter Buchanan for his generosity and enthusiasm, and to everyone who braved the elements to join us. We’re already looking forward to the next foray into the fungal world!

Bat Walk at Matuku Link
June 2025

Our recent bat walk was a wonderful chance to connect people with the creatures that come to life after dark in our wetlands and forests. Although Saturday’s weather wasn’t on our side, we were lucky to have clearer skies on Sunday evening.

The evening began with an introduction to bats from local expert Tina Hamlin, who shared her knowledge of New Zealand’s only native land mammals, pekapeka (bats). Then, armed with bat detectors, our group set off into the twilight, ears tuned for the telltale clicking sounds of bat echolocation.

With plenty of insects in the air, the conditions seemed good for hearing bats – and we weren’t disappointed! While we didn’t see any bats, some of our detectors managed to pick up a few echolocation calls as bats zipped through the night sky.

Of course, bats weren’t the only highlight. Along the way, we also encountered some of the other fascinating nocturnal wildlife that calls Matuku Link home – titiwai (glowworms) glowing quietly among the trees, a large female tree wētā, a leaf-veined slug, and several very cool spiders.

We’re so grateful to everyone who joined us for this special night, and especially to Tina for her generosity and enthusiasm. Ngā mihi nui!

Thanks to Melissa Ward for sharing her photos from the evening.

It’s planting season again! Time to plant and look after last year’s planted trees. We’d love you to join us at 111 Bethells Road to plant some new trees and care for the ones we’ve planted earlier. We do recommend gumboots – a bit of splashing around in the mud makes it even more fun! For H&S reasons: if you haven’t been before, please REGISTER here.

We’d love to see you at our one of our Sunday working bees / planting days. They start at 10 am, run till 1 pm and are followed by a shared lunch. Great fun for all ages!

• Sunday 17th August – 10am to 1pm
• Sunday 21 September – 10am to 1pm
• Sunday 19th October – 10am to 1pm (joined by a group from Imagin8)

If you’re new, we’ll take you on a guided tour around the project, you might see pāteke / the rare brown teal, or admire our huge eels. If you’re a regular, you know how much fun this is, so bring your friends! All ages welcome, especially the tamariki.

• no need to bring your own gloves and spades, but if you do: everything needs to be squeaky clean because of kauri dieback
• for the shared lunch we’ll provide soup or salad & snacks (and homemade baking if you’re lucky!) & hot drinks to share, if you can bring something to add, that’s always appreciated.

If you’re more interested in coming during the week, join us on Tuesdays from 9 am till noon. But don’t forget if you haven’t been before to register HERE.

Hope to see you there! – Annalily & the trustees

0212207136 or hello@matukulink.org.nz

Some of our keen-eyed wetland volunteers may have recently noticed a mysterious cordoned off square in Totara Glade in recent months! You may also have heard, some months ago, something about a plant survey. This first weekend in March, this project has begun, and will be taking place (hopefully) over the next many years. I am doing this to study the changes in this 10x10m², as the trees and plants we have planted near the area grow, and potentially change the abundance of light and water in the study area.
The area in question is currently an ‘edge zone’, which is where, in nature, two different habitats meet, and biodiversity is often at its highest among many other things. Think coasts, forest edges, stream and lake edges and the snowline on a mountain. We find some of nature’s most talented survivors and outliers in these areas. As our planted trees grow and the edge zone moves and changes in the coming years, I anticipate changes to the plant life as a result and so I will be making a full record of what can be found there currently. Then, once a year, we will use that record and note any changes.

As you can see in the pictures, I have created a grid of 1m squares within the larger square to split the work into smaller, more manageable chunks. These smaller squares are temporary, while the top line is permanent to prevent disturbance of the area, whether it is a well-meaning volunteer or an excited school holiday programme participant looking for building materials for their huts!

Starting next year, this project will be suitable for all knowledge levels, and I will be inviting you all to join me if you’re keen to learn about plants and trees, and how to identify them! If you’re interested in learning more about the project, I’m always keen to chat with and involve any fellow plant enthusiasts, see below.

Ngā mihi nui! Joshua Stobart – contact via the Matuku Link office: hello@matukulink.org.nz or 0226922016

Open Studios Waitākere at Matuku Link!
📅 Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th November | 10am – 4pm

Join us at Auckland’s largest mainland wetland for a weekend of art and nature! We’re excited to host several local artists for Waitākere Open Studios this year, right here at Matuku Link.

The longest mural in Te Henga, depicting the migration story of the eel, painted by Derek March will be the backdrop for two days of the artistic take-over of Matuku Link’s Sustainable Wetland Education Centre. You’ll have the chance to see works by Derek March, Lucia Abena, Mary Ann Manchego, Rachel Bebbington, Ngaio Matariki Osborne Mace, Larraine Williams, Serena Stevenson, Jessie Gabriel, Simon McIntyre, Celia Steenhuisen as Frida Lobo, Jaqx, and Summer Knight. The artists will take turns being on-site to chat and answer questions, with most pieces available for purchase, offering options to suit all budgets.

There will be a painting demonstration on Saturday with Celia Steenhuisen and Brandy Davis will be screenprinting her new Matuku Link t-shirt design from midday on Sunday. Bring along your own dark-coloured t-shirt to be screenprinted for $15, or pick from a limited selection of pre-printed kids’ and upcycled t-shirts available for purchase.

Make the most of your visit with guided wetland tours at 11am and 1pm each day. Hot drinks, toilets, eftpos, and an accessible path will be available.

We look forward to seeing you there!